The Stars Above
by WaitingforZach
Summary: This is an expansion of the star scene in 'United We Spy'. "I never knew there were this many stars." "I can't see them," he told me. His breath was warm on my neck, and he kissed the soft skin at the base of my hair. "I just see you." Rated M for lemon.


The Stars Above

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in Gallagher Girls or the writing in _italics_ , all rights got to Ally Carter.

Song of inspiration: Miss Missing You- Fall Out Boy

 _"I never knew there were this many stars."_

 _"I can't see them," he told me. His breath was warm on my neck, and he kissed the soft skin at the base of my hair. "I just see you."_

I wanted to retort back with some witty remark, as if nothing had changed between us. I wanted to keep my train of thought focused on the inevitability of tomorrow. But I couldn't help it. I melted against Zach's strong form, as a lemon drop would in the sun. As I settled pleasantly into his warm, inviting embrace I couldn't help but notice the realistically narrow and dirty cave entrance we were in, with piles of powdered snow collecting in the corners of the cave and its crevices; it seemed to melt away just like I had. Through my vision the cave now appealed to me as being somewhat homely and protective, and just because of the drugging effect Zach's proximity had on me.

I guess what they say is true then. Love really is transformative. It does have the ability to turn the ordinary into the extraordinary.

I raised my slightly drooped gaze from the scenic view of the mountains and stars ahead of us to Zach's jaw. There was a hint of stubble along his strong jaw which I was tempted to run my fingers along, and then my lips, but for now I was just content with watching him, in a supposedly romantic and totally not creepy way.

"Zach, what do you think will happen tomorrow?" I asked even though I didn't know if I wanted to hear the answer.

Moments passed before I felt him turn me in his lap so we were facing each other, almost chest to chest. My eyes found his instantly and they didn't waver. The intensity of the moment sent shivers down my spine as I waited for his response.

"Justice," He said, as confident as he always was. Reassurance flooded through me and I nodded slowly whilst breathing out. Justice would be achieved tomorrow, and I was going to relish it. "Because god knows we deserve it." He continued, shoving a hand through his soft, thick, dark hair.

My lips quirked up at that. After everything we all needed some solace, finality or even relief. And at that moment on Zach's lap in the cave, with my sleeping bag wrapped around us, I could only think about one sort of relief I wanted.

It must have been our closeness and contact that caused my cheeks to flush what I'm sure was a very flattering shade of red, but I hoped to play it off as being cold, even though my body felt like it would burst into flames with the slightest friction. In my flushed state I must have moved slightly because I became instantly aware of Zach's hands now on my waist and how they tightened around me, as if the mere thought of our moment being interrupted pained him.

And maybe it did. After all, tomorrow was going to be sudden, rapid and volatile. The outcome unpredictable. I didn't even dwell on the thought of something bad happening to Zach... I couldn't. Instead I swore to myself that tonight I would do whatever it took to keep the memory of him, of us, branded in our minds and forever burning.

Apprehensively, I placed my small hands on Zach's broad shoulders and smiled delightfully when I felt the muscles under his t-shirt bunch up under my touch. That was all the confidence boost I needed before I started to move them more confidently to his chest, but I didn't get far before Zach gathered my hands to him and kissed each of my knuckles in an excruciatingly slow and sweet manner before he met my eyes with his now clouded over green ones.

His voice was deeper than usual when he spoke. "Gallagher Girl..." He warned.

My heart beat sped up so quickly that I thought for a second that maybe Zach would be able to feel it. Because, god, I would be lying if I thought for even a split second that his deeper voice and warning tone didn't excite me. It made me wonder how far I could push him before he had a total of no resistance left. And what would happen if I succeeded...

I used my tongue to wet my lips and I saw Zach's intense gaze flick down. He was looking at them with such intensity that my throat suddenly became dry and I had to swallow before speaking.

"Zach." I mimicked his earlier tone whilst freeing my hands from his hold and returning them to his chest. I felt a mixture of relief and smugness when I felt his heart beat just as frantically as my own.

His hands returned to their previous position of circling my waist and he dropped his forehead till it was touching mine. I let out a long breath before letting primal instinct take over and started to slowly, gently and torturously circle my hips down on to Zach's lap. I must have been doing something right because I heard his sharp intake of breath and I saw how his eyes were a much darker colour than I've ever seen.

I felt powerful. It was usually Zach who had the upper hand over me in situations. Him with his hardly attractive (okay, scandalously attractive, panty-dropping) smirk. I'd be stupid not to use this situation to my advantage...

I was tempted to pick up the pace, but I had always been taught that patience was a virtue so I kept up the languid pace of my actions. I swear I heard the grinding of Zach's teeth in frustration and I chose that moment to apply a bit more pressure on him.

"Fuck, Cammie." He pretty much gritted out as he let his large hands cup my face in his, tucking my light coloured hair behind my ear in the process.

And seeing as I had nothing to lose, and I was positive that we were the only ones awake for miles. I leaned down even closer to him so our chests brushed and my mouth was right beside his ear.

"That's the point." I softly whispered, "Fuck Cammie."

I withdrew, fighting off the blush that was threatening to show and I watched with a pleasing feeling when I saw Zach's jaw drop in the slightest, (and not much shocked him!) and saw his eyes sharpen brightly before his hands strong and steady on my face brought my face to his, and crashed our lips together in the most passionate kiss which I felt in every fibre of my body. And just with that friction alone, I was ignited.

We kissed as if we couldn't get enough of each other, as if we we would never be sated of our uncontrollable, burning and consuming desire for each other. Our lips were working frantically, mapping each others and I had never felt anything as intense in my life. The bruising sensation his soft but firm lips caused was addicting and god knows I never wanted it to stop. Zach brought his hands to my hips and pulled me even closer to him, by this point I could feel the hardened length of his arousal underneath his jeans and the mere thought of it caused desire to pool heavily low in me.

I brought my hands to his hair and I tugged at the soft tresses which caused Zach to bite down on my lip. It was far more pleasurable than painful and it was so unexpected that I let out a fleeting moan. I probably would have blushed again if it wasn't for Zach making a small moan of his own in response to mine.

He started moving his lips from my mouth down my jawline to my collarbone, peppering kisses on his way and sucking, biting and licking as he pleased. My breaths were becoming more frequent and I swore and tugged at his hair quite hard when he bit the junction between my collarbone and neck. I felt him smirk into my skin and I was tempted to playfully shove him a bit, but then he bit down on that spot again and he had to cover my mouth with his hand so the unexpected sounds I was making remained unheard.

I closed my eyes, the effort to keep them open too much and I heard and felt Zach chuckle mischievously. I was too hot, too ready. I needed him. I lifted Zach's head from the very dark purple bruise he had created and he had one of those cat-that-got-the-cream grins on his face. I brought my lips to his again and we kissed as if we were trying to out run tomorrow. We broke apart only for Zach to take his shirt off and I copied. I forgot that I had taken off my bra to sleep and I was enveloped soon enough in the crisp, cold air which hardened my nipples even more.

I couldn't help but raise my hands to cover my breasts, we had never gone this far before, and we were moving fast now. The most shocking bit was that I didn't mind. I trusted Zach with my life and he had shown on countless occasions that he was worthy of that trust.

Zach shook his head instantly, "Don't cover yourself from me. You've got absolutely nothing to hide, you're striking." He said it with such confidence that I believed it too, because in that moment everything was possible.

I felt my grin spread from ear to ear before placing my lips on his for a slow, lengthy kiss. And when he broke away and pecked my lips again quickly before sending me cheeky, crooked grin, there was no part of me which doubted how hard and recklessly I had fallen in love with him.

When our lips collided again, I felt Zach skim his hands down to my chest, removing my hands in the process. Just the feel of his hands on my breasts had me gasping and like the trained spy he was, he took advantage of my weakened situation and attacked. His tongue battled with mine in the most pleasurable encounter ever. Like him, his tongue was cunning and I lost the battle before it barely started. But this was one battle I had no problem about losing. After all, I was way more focused on the tingling sensation blossoming on my chest as Zach kept massaging my breasts but never touching my nipples which were hard and greedy for his knowing touch.

"Zach." I moaned out as I realised he was torturing me on purpose, payback for earlier.

I saw his smirk before he flipped me over so his hard body was covering mine. From then he acted as a man who was addicted to a certain kind of drug. He sucked my nipple into his mouth whilst his fingers worked the other one. I thought I was going to explode from that sensation alone and I had to bite the inside of my cheek to prevent myself from waking up anyone. When he stopped I was almost relieved, my body felt completely spent. But my rest didn't last very long as he moved to my other nipple and started the torturous process all over again.

I remembered his warning tone from earlier and I wondered if I shouldn't have pushed him because how I was supposed to keep up with him was still a mystery to me. How could I have known that he needed me as much as I needed him?

Suddenly, my control and reservations evaporated. It was as if I heard my own control snap because I proceeded to push Zach off of me and I got on him instead. I acted with haste as I unbuttoned his jeans and pulled the zipper down. He didn't try to stop me this time. As I helped pull them down so he was left in his black boxers which had undeniably gotten tighter, he got to work with pulling the strings of my cotton pyjama shorts so they fell down my legs.

I reached for his erection without really knowing what to do and I heard an almost pained groan escape Zach's lips as he moved his hands to my hair and pulled slightly. I mean, Macey did talk about it sometimes but I never really paid attention... I just let his moans guide me as I gently moved my hand up and down him at a steady pace. I saw his eyes close and his lips part and I took that as my cue to pull his boxers all the way down. Zach's eyes were open now and I felt a little bit intimidated. He was long, thick and warm in my palm and my eyes must have widened or something because I saw a smirk creep onto his face. Needless to say I sent him a look which could have sent him six feet under, and if it wasn't for my flushed face it might have been effective, but all he did was release a small, quick chuckle.

I needed to wipe the smirk off his face. So I let go of any hesitation I had. My gaze locked with his and didn't falter as I moved lower and started to move my hand on him again. And because I wanted to see him flush as he made me do on countless occasions, I darted my tongue out and licked a solid stripe to his tip before sucking gently. He didn't flush, but his eyes flared and he groaned, and this time it was my turn to cover his mouth so no one would wake.

My moment of satisfaction was short lived though as he flipped me so I was on my back again and he pulled my pants down my legs and I kicked them off.

"I would wait, coax you a bit more even, but I really need you Gallagher Girl." He said. And just hearing Zach saying he needed me was all the coaxing I needed.

In response I spread my legs further out for him and even hooked one of them around his waist. He was lifting himself up by propping up one of his elbows and his other hand was travelling up and down my leg. He bent down and kissed me like he wanted to crawl up inside of me and I responded with just as much fervor. He was short for breath next time he spoke.

"Pill?" He said. Thank god we already had this conversation. Macey had told me that a person's first time hurt less if a condom wasn't used and I went on to embarrassingly ask Zach about it. We were both clean and we trusted each other so I went on the pill a little less than a year ago.

"Pill." I responded, my voice much more calm and steady than I actually was.

I felt him at my entrance and I tensed. But Zach's soothing words, kisses and actions made me relax and soon he was in me, stretching and filling as he went. I went from feeling an uncomfortable sensation to feeling a stinging one which shocked me, and I heard him mutter sorry at that whilst I shook my head to say it was alright. I was a Gallagher Girl, we were trained to deal with situations as they were thrown at us and that's exactly what I intended to do.

Once he was in me to the hilt, a few moments of heavy breathing passed between us and I knew Zach was struggling to keep restraining himself. Soon enough the stinging sensation was gone and I really felt him. He was throbbing inside of me and I moved my hips slightly so he got the message that I wanted him to move. I saw beads of sweat form on his forehead and his muscles clench when he withdrew out of me and then plunged back in. Zach continued going in a slow, steady and all consuming pace till I thought I saw stars and our breaths and heartbeats became ragged. I could feel something build up inside of me from his engrossing movements and then I let go, I had to. I bit into Zach's shoulder as I let my body become drained. My release must have triggered his own because moments later he switched us around so I was the one who was collapsed on him in a hot, sweaty mess.

I could feel my hair stick to the back of my neck and all I could do was grin and want to laugh. I turned so I could look at him, and the look he sent me was one that I've never seen before and my heart contracted deep within my chest. I didn't know what to say, so I just rested my head on his chest for a bit and started to drag my fingers around the strong planes of his stomach as he pushed my hair aside and kissed my neck. He probably wanted to get reacquainted with a certain dark purple bruise he left there.

"Zach?" I asked.

"Hmm?" He hummed back. I turned so I was staring him in the eyes.

"Last summer, you told me you went crazy looking for me. I'm sorry. I don't want anything like that to ever happen to you again." I finished off with placing my hand on his cheek, which he chose to kiss.

"But Gallagher Girl," he grinned, "I'm already crazy for you." He even had the decency to wink at me.

Nothing was going to stop the grin lighting up my face though. I proceeded to playfully shove at him and he reciprocated those actions till we snuggled down again together in the sleeping bag. And only then did I mutter, "Me too."


End file.
